Questions about History and Culture – England 2022 #2

Day 2 – June 25

Waking up in Nottingham, we had to figure out our plans. Before we had parted the night before, I had declined John’s offer of attending a birthday party for the child of a friend of his so we were definitely Oxford bound, it was just a matter of how and when to best get there. We would spend the next few days staying with my old friend Amy and her husband Clive. I met Amy somewhere around 28-30 years ago when we both worked for the Groundlings in LA. I was a booth jockey and she was a stage manager. Since then, we’d kept in touch over social media, even managing to see each other once or twice since she’d moved to the UK. Now, she had graciously offered us all a piece of futon covered flooring in her craft room and we gladly took her up on the offer.

Continue reading “Questions about History and Culture – England 2022 #2”

And so it begins – England 2022 #1

Prologue

Back in February or March, Rasa was informed of a conference in her field coming up in Manchester, England at the end of June. We talked it over and decided it would be a good idea to go. It would be her first in-person conference as a PhD student (due to the pandemic) and was scheduled to include a number of big names in her field as participants, including her unofficial supervisor (whom she would be able to meet in person for the first time).

Continue reading “And so it begins – England 2022 #1”

Daddy’s Day 2022

Here in Lithuania, Father’s Day is always on the first Sunday of June, which means it could be anywhere from the 1st-7th. Children’s Day, however, is always on June 1, so there is a chance, although it didn’t happen this year, that they will fall on the same day. But this year, on May 31, Monki was very excited for Children’s Day because, as she rightfully points out she is “a children” and so expects presents and wonderful things on this day.

Continue reading “Daddy’s Day 2022”

Comic Con Baltics 2022

My time working on Comic-Con Baltics 2022 started with working on Comic-Con Baltics 2020, when I interviewed RJ Mitte to announce his attendance. Of course, then COVID hit and everything was postponed.

Then postponed again. And again.

Continue reading “Comic Con Baltics 2022”

2021 wrap up

844cf2c1

Seriously? It’s the end of 2021 already? How did that happen? I mean it’s been a helluva year for sure. We’ve seen friends and relatives die, related to COVID and not. We’ve seen new governments take control and, in some cases, make things better and in some cases make things much, much worse (and while I’d like to say this is an objective statement, I, better than anyone else since I repeat it several times every semester, know there is no such thing as objective.)

Continue reading “2021 wrap up”

How was the Storyworth project for you?

black and red typewriter
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

This is my last entry in this year-long Storyworth project. It’s number 52 and even though I could write more, I think 52 entries is a good number. I wrote my first one back on December 22, 2020 and now it’s December 29, 2021 and since I was late a few times, this seems like a great place to finish up. Continue reading “How was the Storyworth project for you?”

Do you have a favorite poem? What is it? 

511px-jabberwockyI’m having a hard time starting my answer to this one. Yes, there are a couple of obvious responses, which I’ll get to in a minute, but part of my issue is do I include song lyrics or not? I mean, sure, they qualify as poems, but do I count them amongst my favorites? Do they hold up when you remove them from their accompanying music (no semantic arguments about songs like “Tom’s Diner” because the music is inherent in the presentation)? Continue reading “Do you have a favorite poem? What is it? “

What are some of your family traditions?

traditionWhen I started thinking about this topic, I was having a hard time coming up with a tradition that felt like a tradition. I was focused more on the idea of holidays or things like that, things you do as a family. Except, having been around a while, the idea of “family” has been in flux for a good portion of my life. I left my folks’ house (after a few false starts) for Los Angeles when I was 20 and didn’t return to the same city as them for another 16 years. In between, I had a live-in girlfriend and a wife, and I don’t really remember many traditions there. Continue reading “What are some of your family traditions?”

Did you have any serious accidents as a child? 

boom_1308-2927Did I have any serious accidents as a child? Oh boy, did I!

Let’s see…it all started on a Thursday (was it a Thursday? I don’t know. I think it was and since Thursdays are a thing with me, I’ll hold to that truth) when I was 9 years old. We were living on Monticello, having moved back to Vegas for the second and final time. This is before we bought the house on Fenway, much nearer to Diskin Elementary, my school. Continue reading “Did you have any serious accidents as a child? “

If you could thank anyone, who would you thank and why? 

603e6f6e60bfe6a04f06ebab_thankyouMy question this week is “If you could thank anyone, who and why?” Before I delve deep into whatever metaphorical or metaphysical answer I might come up with, I need to start by saying I’d thank my parents because I forgot at my Bar Mitzvah, which was 41 years ago, and they still haven’t let it go.

So thanks mom and dad, on this day that I become a man. Continue reading “If you could thank anyone, who would you thank and why? “

What fascinated you as a child? 

want-to-create-an-inspirational-tagline-for-ted-lasso-signAs with most of these “remember when” questions, what fascinated me as a child is a complicated query. Over the course of my childhood, which, for argument’s sake, let’s say extends from earliest memories (about age 4) up through getting my driver’s license on my sixteenth birthday, I’ve been fascinated by numerous things. Continue reading “What fascinated you as a child? “

Were you well-behaved or badly-behaved as a child?

white and red lighthouse on rocky shore
Photo by Steffi Wacker on Pexels.com

Again, when dealing with “as a child” questions, I have to wonder what age range child encompasses? Are we talking about toddler to middle school or up through high school graduation? Also, we should probably define what kind of behavior qualifies as “well” or “bad” considering there’s a range there which is not insignificant. Either way, I don’t think I was a badly-behaved child. I mean, I wasn’t as bad as some, not that I didn’t get into my fair share of trouble. Continue reading “Were you well-behaved or badly-behaved as a child?”

Do you have any funny or embarrassing Thanksgiving memories?

IMG_2590Thanksgiving has always been an interesting time for me. Most of my adult life has been spent living in a different city than my immediate (birth) family and since Thanksgiving is a family holiday, it was always one of the days I would try and make it home. This worked out well in my personal life, too, as most of my partners were either in Vegas or not from America where Thanksgiving didn’t matter. As well, since I was raised Jewish and none of my partners were, this meant Christmas wasn’t an issue, either. Continue reading “Do you have any funny or embarrassing Thanksgiving memories?”